Texas Governor Abbott blocks funding for more Flock cameras
Texas Governor Abbott blocks funding for more Flock cameras
德克萨斯州州长阿博特叫停 Flock 摄像头后续资金
As backlash grows over Flock’s AI surveillance cameras, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has frozen state spending on them. The move came just ahead of the publication of a Texas Tribune investigation that revealed the state spent over $30 million on Flock cameras. That money was primarily raised by tacking a $1 fee onto insurance policies, allegedly to help fight catalytic converter theft.
随着公众对 Flock AI 监控摄像头的抵制情绪日益高涨，德克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特（Greg Abbott）已冻结了该州对这些摄像头的相关支出。此举发生在一项《德克萨斯论坛报》（Texas Tribune）调查报告发布前夕，该调查揭露了德州已在 Flock 摄像头上花费了超过 3000 万美元。这笔资金主要通过在保险单上额外征收 1 美元费用筹集，名义上是为了帮助打击催化转换器盗窃案。
Flock cameras have increasingly drawn ire from across the political spectrum as they’ve become the subject of privacy concerns. There have been multiple incidents of officers being placed on leave or criminally charged for misusing Flock systems, including at least six in Texas alone. The company has also come under scrutiny for its data-sharing, the placement of some of its cameras near playgrounds, its own employees’ access to video feeds, unsecured video feeds, and its ham-fisted attempts to avoid transparency.
Flock 摄像头因引发隐私担忧，正日益受到跨党派人士的抨击。目前已发生多起警员因滥用 Flock 系统而被停职或面临刑事指控的事件，仅在德克萨斯州就有至少六起。此外，该公司还因其数据共享行为、将部分摄像头安装在游乐场附近、员工访问视频流的权限、视频流缺乏安全保护，以及其试图逃避透明度监管的拙劣手段而受到严厉审查。
In recent months, cities around the country have been canceling their contracts with Flock, including many in Texas. Abbott’s Democratic opponent in the race for governor, Gina Hinojosa, has criticized him for expanding use of the cameras in the state. And Republican representative Keith Self recently posted on Instagram that, “From Flock cameras to kill switches, we will NOT surrender our Fourth Amendment rights to the growing surveillance state.” Cheering on the destruction of Flock cameras has even become a unifying pastime on the internet.
近几个月来，全国各地的城市纷纷取消了与 Flock 的合同，其中包括德克萨斯州的许多城市。阿博特在州长竞选中的民主党对手吉娜·伊诺霍萨（Gina Hinojosa）曾批评他在州内扩大了这些摄像头的使用范围。共和党众议员基思·塞尔夫（Keith Self）最近也在 Instagram 上发文称：“从 Flock 摄像头到远程停机装置，我们绝不会为了日益增长的监控国家而放弃我们的第四修正案权利。”在互联网上，为破坏 Flock 摄像头的行为喝彩甚至已成为一种凝聚人心的消遣。